The Wild Things Are.

Yay for Saturday!!

2012-01-28T10:20:00.001-06:00

Good morning, friends!! How are you on this beautiful Saturday?

I, for one, am in the mood to get outside, so I think I'm going to bundle all these kids up and make them come on a ride with me!!

Last night I watched "Aftershock." It's a Chinese film with subtitles, and depending on the quality of the movie and the mood I'm in, sometimes subtitles can seriously get on my nerves, but this one was so good that I stopped even noticing them about 5 minutes in. It was kind of like a foreign "Sophie's Choice" with a twist, and I really quite enjoyed it!

Also caught part of "Pretty Woman." As I'm sure most of you already know that it's pretty much a federal law that all women of childbearing age are REQUIRED to absolutely love that movie (and also "Dirty Dancing!"), but in case you had somehow missed that memo, now you know! That movie makes me happy every single time I watch it!

There are very few movies that entertain me enough to watch over and over... Shawshank Redemption is another... Every single time I run across that one, no matter where I come in along the story arc, I just can't seem to stop myself from dropping whatever else I'm doing and watching the rest. It's up there with my favorite movies ever, for sure. The novella is also excellent, and I have found that Stephen King novellas, specifically, seem to be the rare exception to that whole "the book is always better than the movie" thing. Most of his other works translate pitifully onto the big screen, but Shawshank is another matter altogether!

Okay, enough of that, now on to force all these short people in my house to pull on some layers and get their video-game-playing, best-friend-texting butts outside for some sunshine!!

Happy Saturday everybody!!

Sent from my iPhone

Random Comments

2012-01-18T13:30:00.003-06:00

Okay! So... we've been a little busy! Guess that's nothing new. SO... anyway, here is a list of random thoughts/happenings that come to mind at this very moment!

1. I had my body fat percentage checked today... They used that little electronic machine at FAC to check it, and it came in at 15.1% Well, for a woman, that's really low, so I decided to drop by Your Total Fitness Shop on the way home to have them double-check! Their machine said the same thing, and then I had them do a 7-point caliper measurement analysis, and it came up with 13.43%! Holy Workout, Batman, I am definitely done with all that baby weight nonsense! Woo too!!! : )

2. Currently reading "Lady Chatterley's Lover." I bought it to gather inspiration for a writing project I am working on that may or may not involve a love scene. I'd always heard of how steamy the book is, so I figured it would be a good bet for what I was needing, but I have to tell you... This book is simultaneously quite overrated and quite underrated. The steam level is way over-rated... It barely even registers by today's standards. But the quality of the writing by DH Lawrence is just incredible... Very inspiring. His prose moves me, and his subtle observations are witty without trying to be so. I completely adore the book, which means that even though I only picked it up yesterday, I'm already over halfway done. *sigh. Such is the double-edged sword of reading a book that is truly wonderful.

3. WE PAID OFF THE PILOT!!! This means no more car payments for us... EVER! We will just drive our current cars until the wheels fall off, and when that happens, we will buy whatever car we can afford to buy with cash. It is incredibly liberating. I'm seriously pumped. THANK YOU DAVE RAMSEY!!

4. We went to the Cotton Bowl - had lots of fun, and some day when I grow up and stop being a horrible blogger, maybe I will get around to posting pictures of it! Remains to be seen...

5. This is related to #2... I have started writing again. This makes me happy. : ) In honor of this, I am now typing this blog post from my new MacBook Air. I acquired it so that I have a fantastically portable way to work on my project from wherever I might be. I must say, I have admired these things from afar for years, but I had no idea how much I would love actually owning one until I had one... It is absolutely tiny and fits in my purse, but it has a very comfortable full-sized, backlit keyboard. <3

6. The kids are great... Autumn's cheer squad won 1st out of 10 teams in their last competition, and out of three competitions so far this year, they have brought home three first-place trophies! Wow! Bear is loving the New School,and loving 3rd grade. It is exactly where he needed to be. Norah Claire is just as feisty and hysterical as ever, and Shiloh is like her little shadow... He follows her around everywhere, trying to do everything that she does. Yesterday, when she got put in time out, he even went and sat right by her and cried along with her. I tried to explain to him that he was not in time out, Norah was, but he would have nothing of it! So precious!

7. I guess it's 2012 now, and the only resolution I made is a secret one, but I just want to say how very thankful I am for all the blessings in my life!

Okay, now back to the real world! Happy Wednesday everyone! : )

Beautiful Day for a Bike Ride!

2011-12-29T14:40:00.000-06:00

1 in 5 Teenagers...

2011-11-30T20:27:00.001-06:00

Saw this on Facebook and just had to share... Love it!!

Mimi's in the Fall!

2011-11-15T12:49:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos from our weekend visit to Mimi's house! So fun!

Go Jewels!

2011-11-15T12:09:00.001-06:00

Autumn and her cheer team took home another 1st place trophy this weekend in Branson. I am loving their new routine this year... It seriously blows me away!

On another note, I find this Jammie guy that shows up at all of the JamFest competitions to be mildly terrifying.

Lunch with Elle Bell!

2011-11-15T12:06:00.001-06:00

It's so much fun to be an aunt and get to watch my precious little niece grow! Here are a few pictures of her chowing down on some bananas this weekend. Can you believe she is already 7 months old? Crazy! She is such a precious girl!

*Kori

...Then Comes Baby in the Baby Carriage!

2011-10-21T08:56:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things about being a wedding photographer is getting to watch the couples start families of their own! I always love seeing a former bride with a baby bump! : ) Well, Shelly and Jeff, a couple whose wedding we photographed in 2007, recently came by the studio with a brand-new, completely adorable little bundle of sweetness for us to photograph! Here are a few of our favorite pictures of baby Alex!

Jason had to remind me on the way in not to get any ideas! He was (rightly) worried about me coming down with a case of baby fever once I held that precious baby girl! : )

Christmas is Coming!!

2011-10-05T16:11:00.001-05:00

It may be time for pumpkin patch visits and hay rides now, but before you blink, we'll be setting up the trees and getting ready for Santa! If you're thinking about scheduling a holiday photo shoot with us this year, now is the time! It is beautiful outside, and there is still plenty of time to get creative with the images before the holiday rush hits. We love making Christmas cards!! : )

Take advantage of this gorgeous weather and set up a session before the busy holiday season gets started! Call now to secure your spot!

Lunch break!

2011-10-04T14:57:00.000-05:00

School pictures!

2011-09-27T09:46:00.003-05:00

My poor blog has been neglected lately, largely due to the fact that since I got my new iMac, I have yet to remember to install any FTP software so that I can upload pictures! *sigh

Anyway, all is well here! Just taking pictures and chasing babies as usual! Also, all my jeans fit now, which makes me beyond ridiculously happy! : )

Since I can't upload any "real" pictures until I get around to installing some software, here are the kids' school pictures from this year!

Autumn's 4th Grade School Photo:

And Bear's 2nd Grade School Photo:

I'm a bit biased, I suppose, but I think those kids are awfully cute! : ) Happy Tuesday everyone!

I Heart This Video!

2011-09-23T15:37:00.002-05:00

Okay, I am officially in LOVE with the short video preview that last weekend's videographer made from Chevis + John's wedding... Click on THIS LINK to check it out! It's so cute! : )

Buddy says hi!

2011-09-21T11:23:00.003-05:00

Swinging!

2011-09-21T11:23:00.001-05:00

Good morning from these guys!!

2011-09-08T08:36:00.000-05:00

Weddings, Weddings and More Weddings!

2011-09-07T19:33:00.002-05:00

We've been super swamped with shooting and editing lately, but we are finally starting to get caught up from the crazy summer rush! All of our galleries are online, including this last one from Juliette and Ward. I just cannot tell you how much fun we had at this one. I love getting to shoot with Jason, and this crew was so easy to be around that it made for a really good time! Check it out!

Even more pictures from this wedding are on our galleries page as well as our facebook page!

Ceremony: St. Edward Catholic ChurchReception/Catering: Peabody HotelFlowers: Distinctive Designs by TanarahCake: The Blue Cake CompanyTransportation: Arkansas Trolley CompanyPhotography: The Hudsons - Modern Photography

Also, my current Pinterest obsession is organizing all of our 2009 and 2010 wedding details into idea boards! It's been really fun! I forget how many awesome celebrations we've been at until I sit down and look at them all at once! Check out my boards!

Quote of the Day!

2011-09-02T10:40:00.002-05:00

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." -Helen Keller

So what is your daring adventure today? Mine involves lunch at Chick Fil-A with Mimi and Elle Bell, straightening up for my parents' visit this weekend and reorganizing our file system for the studio. It may not sound adventurous, but you try to do any of that with my kids around, and you will see otherwise! Ha!

Also, on a side note, I managed to finagle an invite to Pinterest. I still have no idea what it is, and I'm pretty sure I don't have time to fool with it, but their marketing scheme of "You can't join until you get an invite, so feel free to hop on our waiting list," was apparently very effective, because once I discovered that they wouldn't let me right in, I knew I would not rest until I had joined! : )

Okay, time to get off the dang computer and be productive. Happy Friday people!!

Norah's first day of school!

2011-08-23T08:12:00.001-05:00

Life with Kids: Relaxing and Enjoyable! (Ha!)

2011-08-16T21:29:00.003-05:00

Ran across this funny article on Facebook, and I thought I would share! Those of you with any children (let alone 4!) will identify! : )

Click the picture to skip to think link... Much easier to read!

Elle Bell - 3 Months Old!!

2011-08-13T10:05:00.001-05:00

I love my Buddy!!

2011-08-12T20:38:00.003-05:00

The Irony of Blogging

2011-08-09T20:28:00.003-05:00

I just realized how inherently ironic the concept of keeping up with a blog is. The busier you are and the more interesting, blog-worthy stuff you have going, the harder it is to find the time to blog any of the fun stuff! Oh well!

I guess I'll just jump in where I am. It's a strategy that seems to serve me well in other pursuits (housecleaning, weight loss, etc.), so why not try it out with blogging?

Today's dilemma: which biking app is best? Before my phone went awol (thank you sleazy dishonest bar patron at Varsity Grill in Fort Smith!), I was using the Cycle Tracker Pro app, but when I had to redownload everything onto my new phone (I hadn't synced since November, apparently!), I decided to try a new one. My previous one had the rather annoying habit of talking loudly to me as I rode, and it was pretty buggy when it came to resuming rides if you paused it.

So a couple of days ago, I downloaded the free version of "I Map My Ride," and so far I like it! Here is a screen shot from today's outing:

The above ride almost killed me, by the way! Jason got "fixed" yesterday, so biking is out for a couple of weeks, which means that if I want to go, I have to pull the trailer! I usually make him do it, and today's ride reminded me why! Bear and I rode 10 miles with me pulling the trailer in the heat over the hills of the Lake Fayetteville trail, and when I was done, I was dizzy and vaguely nauseated, but very proud!

Anyway, do any of you out there in blog world ride a bike? If so, what app do you use? I'm curious...

ps. Go set up "Find My iPhone" RIGHT NOW, and then back that baby up! You never know when you'll need it!

Raccoons fear no Lysol.

2011-08-03T09:03:00.003-05:00

Last night I decided to go to bed early so that I could get up and go for a bike ride before the blistering heat of the day set in, so at 1 in the morning I was midway through a long, peaceful slumber in our cozy bed. Imagine my surprise, then, when my phone rings and it says that "Autumn Daniel" is calling me!

Confused and bleary-eyed, I answered and became immediately alarmed, because I could hear her sobbing on the other end. Once I got her to calm down enough to explain herself, I figured out that she was hearing weird scary growling noises downstairs, so we went to investigate.

The only weapon I could find along the way was a can of Lysol, so I grabbed it. Barefoot and pajama-clad, we tiptoed down the stairs and into the kitchen only to find 3 raccoons helping themselves to the cat food! They had apparently come in the cat door and decided to spend their evening lounging in our pantry.

We both freaked out and tried to shoo them away, but they didn't care a bit. They just sat there staring at us with their menacing, raccoony eyes, so I decided it was time for the Lysol. I aimed the lavender-scented disinfectant right at their beady little peepers and sprayed away, but it did not have the effect I intended! The fat one squeezed back out the cat door with a marked lack of urgency, but the other two charged us! We ran screaming through the kitchen while they skidded and clawed across the wood floor after us. Thank goodness for the baby gate! We hightailed it upstairs while they lurked creepily in the living room until I convinced Jason to come downstairs and chase them out.

It was seriously terrifying! I am going to have nightmares about evil masked creatures chasing me for weeks now. Stupid raccoons!!

That's it. I'm moving to Colorado.

2011-08-02T20:02:00.001-05:00

The Fun Part

2011-07-31T15:28:00.000-05:00

I am currently reading a book called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin, and I ran across a quote that I just had to share!

On waiting for the arrival of happiness:

"The fun part doesn't come later. NOW is the fun part."

So true!

Sent from my iPhone

Shiloh is 1!!

2011-07-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Birthday party pictures to follow soon, but here are a few portraits that we took of Shiloh on his birthday. I love that Buddy so much!!

New Kicks!

2011-07-29T11:41:00.001-05:00

Well, I've been wearing the same pair of old-school burgundy Pony running shoes with hot pink laces for about 6 years now, and they finally kicked the bucket! Once I noticed how clearly you could see the giant hole in the back of them in pictures, I decided it might be time to pick up a new pair of shoes! But I was super-sad, because I sooooo loved those things!

So anyway, I got myself on over to Journeys and found this pair on sale!

I LOVED them! Similar feel, and an even better color scheme to go with the bright, happy clothes I have found myself drawn to lately! I wore them yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed them, but it just seemed like something was missing. Then it dawned on me: These shoes need some neon laces!

So this morning I pulled out the boring gray laces and strung them up with these guys!

Now they feel just right, and the picture above assures me that the shoes are even Jason-approved. Perfect! : )

Spreading the Sophie Love!

2011-07-26T13:33:00.002-05:00

At just 1 day shy of 1 year old, Shiloh has mostly abandoned his adoration of Sophie the Giraffe for other pursuits including, but not limited to, stair exploration, outlet investigation and obsessive toilet seeking! But not to worry, our love for Sophie (not our poor grimy Sophie, but a fresh new one) has now been passed on to sweet baby Elle! Jamie apparently acquired one somehow and sent me this iPhone photo today!

It made me smile! I love that baby girl!!

IT'S A MIRACLE!!!

2011-07-25T18:47:00.000-05:00

Okay, we may be having frozen pizza for dinner, there may be a mountain of laundry from our trip in the living room, and we may have 4 crazy children who seem to think they live in a zoo, but MY JEANS FIT, so I just don't care!! : )

Ray-Ban-Tastic!

2011-07-25T17:31:00.001-05:00

I am so digging the J-Man's new Ray-Bans! Here's an iPhone photo I snapped out in the yard. Love it!!

5 Years of Wedded Bliss!!

2011-07-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

via The Hudsons blog

On July 16, Jason and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary. In honor of the occasion, we took a 2-week trip to Crested Butte, Colorado, to enjoy some downtime with our family. Well, by "downtime," I actually mean some time mountain biking, rafting, horseback riding and ziplining (what we were gearing up for in the above iPhone self-portrait!), but it was a great break for all of us! And it turns out that spending a couple of weeks in a cabin in the mountains can be a romantic anniversary getaway even if you do have your kids with you!! : )

To "mark" the occasion, we also got tattoos of each other's names on our arms. They are really simple and beautiful and are very special to both of us. Pictures of those to follow when the healing process is through!

I can't believe it has already been 5 years! That sounds like a long time, but I feel like it was just yesterday that we were walking down the aisle at A Little White Chapel in Vegas! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun!! : )

For a little trip down Memory Lane, we figured that we would post a few of our favorites from our wedding. Pictures are obviously very important to us, so we were very picky when it came to choosing our photographer! We definitely made the right decision, because we still absolutely love looking at every single picture AltF Photography took on that day. Here are a few of our favorites!

Below are some of my bridal portraits that Jason took the day after our wedding. We ventured into the Nevada desert in the blazing 114-degree heat for these, and the rocks Jason had me lay on for some of them were hotter than you can even imagine! I had the welts on my back to prove it!! But it was definitely worth it.

So now that we're back from our magical getaway in the 70-degree paradise that was Colorado, it is business as usual around here! We will be in the office all week working on galleries, print orders and coffee table books and playing hardcore email catchup!

Drop us a line if you need anything! We love hearing from you guys!!

Happy Monday, everyone!

15 Minutes of High-Chair Fame!

2011-07-24T18:15:00.004-05:00

Okay, so this is slightly random, but in case you didn't know, the only publication about which I care enough to hold a subscription is Time Magazine. I absolutely love it, and I read each issue cover-to-cover with rabid joy as soon as it arrives in the mail!

When I got this week's issue, the first thing I noticed was that the high chair on the cover seemed awfully familiar.

After further investigation, I discovered that it is, in fact, the very same Gulliver high chair from Ikea that we have in our dining room!

Somehow this discovery completely delighted me! Happy Sunday everyone! : )

Camp Gray 2011!

2011-07-23T21:06:00.002-05:00

Our awesome cousins, the Williams family, come up to visit from Texas almost every summer, and we love it! This year we ended up with lots of other family in town as well, so decided to turn our adventures into "Camp Gray," and the project was a huge success! Camp activities included a picnic at the Cossatot, a hula hoop contest, a family pool party, a trip to the tattoo parlor, tons of s'mores (and trips to Wal-Mart!) and an end-of-camp awards ceremony the likes of which you've never seen!

Here are a few favorites from Camp Gray!

To view the full gallery of madness, click here!

We're baaaaa-aaaaack!

2011-07-22T22:40:00.002-05:00

Well! That was quite a vacation! Between the rafting, the horseback riding, the ziplining and the biking (over 70 miles of single track and downhill!!), I think we really do need a vacation from our vacation! : ) It was pretty incredible, though. While we were gone, we also celebrated our 5-year anniversary and "marked" the occasion by getting tattoos in Taos!

Tons of pictures to follow shortly, but for now, I think I'm going to go get ready to spend the first night in a long time in my very own bed. It's one of my favorite places in the whole world! Good night folks!

Hello from Crested Butte!!

2011-07-13T22:51:00.000-05:00

I got religion!

2011-07-10T12:45:00.003-05:00

Well, okay, I guess I've already had "religion" for most of my life, but like many other people, my walk with God has taken a twisting path that has not always involved me staying close to Him. I have, on numerous occasions, decided that I knew better than He did what was best for me and struck out on my own to blaze new trails that may have been interesting but were frequently disastrous!

For the last few years, I have been letting fear and resentment and anger get the best of me and poison my daily life. Rather than turn my worries over to God, I was doing my best to "fix" things myself. You see, those of you who know me know that I am a "fixer." If there is a problem, I am your woman to solve it! I am jokingly called "Human Google" by my sister, and in general, I am remarkably good at figuring out how to handle almost any situation, but as I rather painfully learned over the last few years, "ALMOST" any situation is not the same as "ANY" situation. As much as I like to think I know everything, I don't.

So anyway, after spending about 3 years or so making myself a complete basket case with worry and stress, I had an epiphany about a month ago. I realized that I couldn't fix it. So I stopped trying.

I looked back on the things that had happened and realized that although they were bad, I can't change them. I can't make people go back and undo the awful things they did, and I can't make certain family members decide to be supportive rather than hateful. No matter how hard I try, I also can't be absolutely certain that the person won't come back and try to do some awful thing to me or my family. And for a long time, I let living in this land of uncertainty and lack of control drive me bananas and sap my daily life of joy.

But now I realize that although I can't control any of those things, I CAN change my reaction to them. I can't control the waves, but I can learn to surf.

So, having had this miraculous realization, I decided to stop trying to "fix" everything and let God fix it instead, however He thinks it should be. I stopped right where I was and prayed for Him to forgive me for my selfish, faithless attitude and all the damage that I had caused in the situation, and I turned the whole big hot mess over to Him to do with as He sees fit.

I immediately felt different. It sounds cliche, but it was like this HUGE weight was lifted off my chest, and for the first time in who knows how long, I could breathe again. I feel like myself, finally, and it is WONDERFUL!

I still don't know what is going to happen with everything, but I am daily asking God to give me peace about it. Every day I remind myself that I have to trust that He will give me what I need to handle whatever comes my way, so just to focus on being the best wife, mother and friend I can be and God will take care of the rest.

Stressing about the past and worrying about the future does not take the sorrow out of either one, it just robs the present of its joy. And I happen to really like joy, so I'm now hanging on to today and trusting God for the rest!

So yeah. I got religion. And I'm pretty darn happy about it! : )

Pool time!!

2011-07-08T18:22:00.000-05:00

Big news!

2011-07-08T09:52:00.003-05:00

Okay, so it's not actually that big... But I am still really excited!! This morning, just for the heck of it, I decided to try on a pair of my pre-Shiloh jeans. Not the 25's mind you (I have no wish to depress myself), just the 27's, but guess what!

THEY BUTTONED!!! : )

This is fantastic, because it wasn't too long ago that I couldn't even lift the dang things up over my hips. I still have a ways to go, but I can really see that all this biking is paying off! Yay for progress!!

The Burb!!

2011-06-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

Can't wait to get this baby under the bikes on the Burb!! Woo-hoo!!

: (

2011-06-22T21:22:00.000-05:00

I wish sad things didn't have to happen in the world.

Anybody want a kitten?

2011-06-20T10:44:00.001-05:00

A mama cat and 3 kittens were abandoned at my parents' house, and we are trying to help find good homes for them! We were able to catch 2 of the kittens, and they are now at our house in Fayetteville.

They are both very sweet, litter box trained are good with children and other cats. I would be happy to provide more information if anyone is interested! Just let me know!!

Lake Fayetteville - 06.17.11

2011-06-17T21:09:00.000-05:00

Sent from my iPhone

Bear in the Woods

2011-06-17T21:08:00.000-05:00

Sent from my iPhone

Bike Date!

2011-06-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

Just a quick iPhone photo from mine and Jason's weekend bike date riding the Womble Trail in South Arkansas. It was such a blast!! We will definitely be back!!

Sent from my iPhone

Finally Summer!!

2011-06-14T15:29:00.000-05:00

We dropped Autumn off at camp yesterday, and I know she is going to have a blast, but it is weird not to have here!

So glad it is finally summer! While Autumn is at church camp, the other kids and I will be spending this week in Mena riding bikes and swimming at Camp Garner and Papa. Sounds good to me!!

Sent from my iPhone

Joplin

2011-06-03T12:35:00.001-05:00

posted by Jason

Kori and I took a Suburban load of items to a tornado relief center in Joplin, Missouri on May 24, 2011. While there, we walked the path of the tornado and took some pictures. We'll donate these images to the different relief agencies for them to use in their press releases, websites, etc.

You can see a lot more photos of the horror on our facebook page.

Three Times the Fun!!

2011-05-18T13:40:00.002-05:00

It was a bit of a challenge to photograph Knox, Ava and Brooks in the studio, especially with Shiloh in tow! It is hard enough to get one newborn to hold still and be happy, let alone 3! And after watching their parents juggle bottles and baby seats with such apparent ease after only such a short time, I came to the conclusion that God definitely gave these babies to the right people! Michelle and Brandon, one of our past wedding couples, looked like old pros already, and it made me realize that my life isn't quite as hectic as I thought it was! : )

Anyway, we were able to get some really sweet pictures of these little bundles, and there will still be more to follow, because we are going over to their house on Friday morning to get some of them in their own environment. I can't wait!

Here are a few of our favorites from the studio session!

It also reminded me once again how big Shiloh is getting. These guys were all about the same size Shiloh was when he was born, and it was unbelievable how big and grown up he seemed in comparison! He's now scooting around, starting to pull up on things, babbling, clapping and laughing all the time! It is very fun, but we have to watch him pretty closely, because it is easy to forget just how much he can get into now!

He also recently sprouted 2 teeth, which he was none too happy about. I am just hoping they don't give him the urge to start biting! Ouch!

We also grabbed a few photos of Shiloh while we were there yesterday, and I will try to get to those soon. He wasn't really in the mood, but we got several cute ones anyway! Not too hard when your subject is so adorable! : )

Triplets!

2011-05-17T16:18:00.000-05:00

For real this time, but not mine! We had the pleasure of photographing these three precious babies earlier today, and I can't wait to peek through the photos and see what we got! Pictures to follow soon!

Hit the Road, Jack!

2011-05-14T11:02:00.003-05:00

Or actually, hit the road us! We recently made a rather random decision to take up mountain biking. Somehow owning a Suburban put me in the mood for adventure, so I headed over to Phat Tire and picked up a hitch-mount bike rack that can hold up to 5 bikes. And while I was at it, we picked up enough bikes for all of the people in our family who are not currently in diapers, along with a snazzy trailer for the little bits! : ) I am still sore from my first ride on Wednesday, but I am hoping to work it out today with a nice ride on the bike trail near our house.

It is going to take me awhile to get back into the kind of shape I need to be in to ride on the kind of terrain I want to be tackling, but I think it will totally be worth the effort! Mountain biking is about the closest thing you can get to snowboarding when you live in Arkansas!

Here is a stock image of approximately what my Trek 3700 looks like:

I can't wait until I am strong enough to really get out there and explore with it!

A Very Hipstamatic Mother's Day!

2011-05-09T12:09:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! We sure did! The morning kicked off with the kiddos bringing me cards and poems they had made, along with a pretty plant to hang on the back porch, a mug full of dark chocolate candy and a gift certificate for a pedicure... Woo-hoo! Then my parents came up for the day, and my sister and baby Elle joined us for lunch, so I got to spend my afternoon with all the people I love the most!

After a yummy lunch at Noodles and a blissful afternoon siesta, we headed over to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather for a while. We didn't have the big camera with us, but that did not deter us from documenting the day. As I've said on here before, the best camera is always the one you have with you, and the one we had with us was the iPhone! We put it to good use, using the Hipstamatic app to get some fun shots of our afternoon at the park and the evening in our backyard.

I think my very favorite might be the one of me with my boys in the hammock. So sweet!

Now I am going to get off this computer and out of this office to enjoy a lovely day off. (Since we work most Saturdays, Monday is part of our "weekend!") Happy Monday everyone!

I love this little girl!

2011-05-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

Sweet dreams...

2011-05-03T22:07:00.002-05:00

Just a quick observation: There really is nothing sweeter in the whole world than rocking your baby to sleep!

Bliss.

Good night!

Happy (Super-Late!) Easter!!

2011-05-03T12:05:00.002-05:00

We had big plans for a beautiful outdoor photo session with all the grandkids on Easter Sunday, and we bought adorable matching outfits accordingly. Unfortunately, the weather decided not to cooperate! Instead of even a smidgen of sunshine, it was freezing cold and poured all day!

We decided not to let that totally deter us, though, so we went out on the back deck under the awning and made the best of it! Here are a few of the shots we managed to grab before wimping out and heading into the nice, warm house for a delicious Easter dinner. It was the first time we have had all 5 of the kiddos together for a picture! How fun!!

Hope you all had a great holiday as well! Now if it will just ever dry out and warm up so we can schedule a real photo shoot! We'll see!!

Food for Thought...

2011-04-26T21:05:00.006-05:00

We began looking for a new church home last year for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that as we were leaving Central United Methodist Church one day after Sunday morning services, we were greeted by pro-life picketers shouting through megaphones and bearing graphic signs of aborted babies. I was disturbed to say the least, especially since the kids were with me. But more than that, I was just confused. As we hurried by, I turned to Jason and said, "Why on earth would they choose to protest at a CHURCH? Isn't that literally like preaching to the choir?"

Baffled, I went home and started doing a little research on the subject. Turns out, a portion of every Sunday's offering at the Methodist church goes to support an organization they founded in 1973 called the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. This organization employs lobbyists to pass pro-choice legislation and directly funds clinics that provide abortions to women in financial need.

I am not okay with this.

My discovery of this information, combined with other factors, led me to believe that I could not in good conscience continue to support and identify myself with an organization that not only considers itself to be pro-choice, but also directly supports providing abortions out of its weekly Sunday offering. To me, this just seems absurd!

Anyway, we are excited to be visiting a church this Sunday that I have very strong hopes for becoming a part of. I have listened to some of the pastors' sermons online, visited with the director of the children's ministry and the wife of the youth director and thoroughly researched their core beliefs and tenets, all of which fall right in line with ours. As a bonus, they have an AWANA program, which the kids attended for the first time last week and absolutely loved! They also have a Sunday evening service (with child care), so that we will be able to attend even if we are up until 3 in the morning the night before downloading cards after weddings. The lack of an evening worship service has been a big stumbling block for us in the past, because it is really REALLY hard to get 4 kids ready to be anywhere by 10:30 in the morning when you are running on 4 or 5 hours of sleep!

I am very hopeful that we will all feel at home there so that we can become a part of a church community. I want that for us, and I especially want that for our kids. I feel bad that I have not done a very good job of educating them and connecting them in such an important area of our lives over the past couple of years, so I have decided it is high time we get on the ball and get ourselves back where we belong!

Sorry for the long rambling, I am just happy and hopeful! : )

All of that was a little rabbit trail from the original purpose of this blog entry, however, which was to share a short YouTube clip that a friend of mine posted on Facebook. I thought it was really well done, and I hope you enjoy it too! Just click on the picture below to check it out!

For a little personal perspective, here is a picture of our precious Norah when I was just 10 weeks along with her, 3 weeks before the end of the first trimester.

It blows my mind to think that so many people in America would have been totally okay with me wiping out the existence of such an amazing, precious little creature!! I think as more people become educated about the development of life within the womb as babies grow, they will hopefully begin to realize the true nature of even first-trimester abortion.

Thanks for listening, and I hope everyone stays safe in these storms and has a great Wednesday tomorrow! We'll be back to AWANA tomorrow evening. Can't wait! : )

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

2011-04-25T13:51:00.001-05:00

posted by Kori

We had a great Easter yesterday, and we were really looking forward to our family "day off" today, but with all this rain, it looks like our options for outdoor fun may be restricted to going for a canoe ride in our back yard!! Oh well! We have decided that rather than let these rainy days get us down, we might as well break out the cameras and have some fun with it! Here's one we snapped a few minutes ago!

We are planning to get out here in a little bit and go flood hunting. Keep your fingers crossed that any floods we find don't find us! : ) Happy rainy Monday everyone!

I have a niece!!!

2011-04-19T22:54:00.001-05:00

I'm too tired to make a full post about it now, but here is a quick picture of my precious little niece Elle. Congrats Jamie and Joe! We love her so much!!

Published Work - April 2011

2011-04-06T09:10:00.000-05:00

Well, Jamie's STILL not in labor... But in the meantime, here are some shots of our published work in Celebrate Magazine for April 2011!

What a Weekend!!

2011-04-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Well, unfortunately Jamie, who is 39 weeks pregnant and absolutely dying to be a mommy, didn't go into labor, but we all had a great weekend nonetheless! It was our last weekend of until our anniversary in July (thank you Jason for thinking to x that one off so we can do something fun, by the way!), and after that, it's the last one off for pretty much forever! Not that I'm complaining mind you... Busy is good!

Anyway, the weather actually cooperated for once, and we had a full and lovely weekend! Let me run down the events for you. Since I last blogged we:

1. Bought a Suburban (with cash!! Thank you, Dave Ramsey!) Now we can strap the boards on top, pop a trailer on the back, load up all the kids (and two of their friends if we wanted!), and drive out to Colorado with plenty of space leftover for luggage and legroom. Woo-hoo!
2. Walked around Gulley Park to try (in vain) to get Jamie to go into labor
3. Found a random and adorable puppy in Gulley Park who was wandering around with a leash and no owner.
4. Searched all over creation and Craigslist for the puppy's owner
5. Temporarily named said puppy Esther June Hudson.
6. Fell completely in love with said puppy (who we CANNOT keep even if we don't find her owners, since we have 2 parents, 4 kids, 3 cats and 4 frogs living in this house already!)
7. Went to Common Grounds for a lovely lunch with Jamie
8. Hiked around the Lake Fayetteville Trail with both babies and Esther in tow
9. Canvassed the park once more for Esther's parents
10. Spent a lot of time cuddling on the couch and watching movies enjoying the perfect bliss of having nowhere in particular to be!

I think that pretty much covers it! : )

Anyway, if you know someone who is missing a tiny adorable chihuahua/rat terrier type dog (or someone who would like to adopt her if her owners don't show up!), please drop me a line! In the meantime, here are a few iPhone photos of our adventures!!

***Esther June Hudson!***

***THE BURB!!!***

***Mommy and Norah at Common Grounds***

***Daddy, Norah and Esther at Lake Fayetteville trying out the awesome backpack kid carrier that my parents got us for Christmas!***

***Norah and Shiloh at the park. How does that girl manage to look adorable even while picking her nose?***

***Shiloh enjoying a nice cold one on the patio at Common Grounds. : )***

***Norah and Daddy!***

***Mommy, Shiloh and Esther!***

Oooh, and also, over the past couple of weeks, I have been redecorating our bedroom, and I absolutely LOVE the way it is turning out! I will post pictures when it is finished.

Anyway, i8t was a great weekend, and the fun continues today! For Jason's birthday, I arranged a babysitter and picked up a couple of tickets to the Lady Gaga concert at the Bok Center in Tulsa for tonight. The seats are AMAZING, and we can't wait!!! Just keep your fingers crossed that Jamie DOESN'T go into labor tonight! Any time after that would be great though. : )

Happy Monday, everyone!!

In case you didn't believe us...

2011-04-01T19:03:00.001-05:00

Here is VIDEO PROOF!!! You can't Photoshop a video!! Just click the picture below to watch!

**Be sure to watch to the end... There is a cute part with Norah and Shiloh! Enjoy!**

Shiloh has something to tell you...

2011-04-01T07:30:00.000-05:00

We're totally famous.

2011-03-31T07:55:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe not famous exactly, but we do really appreciate Olivia Sellers at NWA Media for writing this story about us that appeared in Sunday's Democrat-Gazette! How fun!!

ps. To all of my friends who know that I am crazy and vaguely OCD, please know that I realize that "complement" is misspelled in the headline and that there is a comma missing in the first paragraph. I didn't write it, I just read it on Sunday like everybody else. I know I'm crazy, but I just had to get that out there. *whew!

Autumn is her Mama's Girl! : )

2011-03-30T09:47:00.003-05:00

When I went to pick up the kiddos from school yesterday, I could tell even as I was waiting in the line that something was up with Autumn. She was wiggling all over and grinning from ear to ear, and I found out what was going on the second the van door opened... "GUESS WHAT!!! I WON THE YOUNG AUTHOR'S COMPETITION!!!" I type that in all caps and with so many exclamation points, because I swear you could hear them in her voice. : ) She was soooo excited! It was adorable.

Because she won, she gets to be a representative for her school at a luncheon and conference at the Richardson Center featuring author Cynthea Liu. She also gets a signed hardback copy of Ms. Liu's latest book, Paris Pan Takes the Dare. But mostly she gets to feel really proud of herself, which is awesome.

She wrote and typed the whole thing herself, and she worked really hard on her final submission, which featured a purple cover, a title page, table of contents, about the author section, etc... It was so cute! I don't have copies of all of it on my computer (she did it all on her laptop), but I did upload the actual piece itself to the web so you guys can check it out if you want. Just click HERE!

Way to go, Autumn! We're so proud of you!!

Norah and Shiloh

2011-02-17T09:10:00.001-06:00

Motivational Monday - 02/14/11 Edition

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

Go anyway.

Motivational Monday - 02/07/11 Edition

2011-02-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

If you have an off day, think of it as a day off! Then get back to it the next day!

Shredders!

2011-02-04T20:02:00.003-06:00

Well the snow seems to have followed us home from Colorado, but unfortunately the Rocky Mountains and ski lifts did not follow suit! Which means that our snow day pursuits lately have consisted of mostly sledding, failed attempts at snowman building, snow-angel making and lots and lots of hot chocolate drinking and brownie/banana bread/pumpkin bread eating!! : ) But that's okay, because we still have these fun memories from our days on the slopes to look back on. My kids are such serious rock stars! Yay for ski trips!!

Bald. Messy. Happy. : )

2011-02-02T11:42:00.000-06:00

Holy Snowstorm, Batman!

2011-02-01T17:16:00.000-06:00

Motivational Monday - 01/31/11 Edition

2011-01-31T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

The more your body hates you now, the more you will love your body later!

Norah Claire Loves Her Daddy!

2011-01-29T23:28:00.000-06:00

Precious girl!!!

Moving!!!

2011-01-29T11:07:00.004-06:00

But not into a new house, thank goodness (I REALLY hate that kind of moving!), into a new studio! We'll have more space and more light in our very own building right off the Fayetteville Square. We're so pumped!

The painters finished up yesterday (well, except for painting the door and putting new numbers on it, but that can wait), so Jason and our associate Jeremy were busy bees moving our furniture over this morning! This means that later today I get to go in and start arranging and figuring out what all we need. We are going for a new, brighter look, which means that I need to get on the ball shopping! We need drapes, light fixtures, rugs, chairs, and about a hundred other things (big and small) which is a lot of fun, but also a lot of trouble when you have four tiny assistant shoppers tagging along with you! : )

Also, the weekend of the official move happened to coincide with a double-slumber party at our house weekend, which means that in all reality, I probably won't get much done until the kids are back in school on Monday. But that's okay, because I am having just about as much fun flipping through design books and magazines and browsing around the Tord Boontje and Tricia Guild websites on the iPad (which if you go there, should give you an idea of the new look we're going for) as I will have actually acquiring the items and putting them in the studio! Plus it is easy to browse from the couch... Bonus points!

I hope everyone enjoys this beautiful weekend! Yay for moving week! : )

Shiloh is 6 Months Old!!

2011-01-28T12:08:00.002-06:00

Believe it or not, or sweet baby boy turned 6 months old yesterday!! In honor of the occasion, we decided to give him his first taste of actual food! We kicked things off with some rice cereal, and he devoured it! He ended up having two servings of it yesterday and another one this morning. I can't believe how big he's getting already! Go Shiloh!!

Random Obvious Thought of The Day

2011-01-25T09:09:00.001-06:00

It is really hard to break bad habits!!!

Motivational Monday - 01/24/11 Edition

2011-01-24T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

It all adds up!

Powder Day!!

2011-01-17T21:51:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We sure did... We're halfway through our trip and having a blast!! A big storm came and dumped about 2 feet of snow on us, so the riding today was AMAZING!!! The kids rocked their first double black, and we only had to hike out of the trees once... Uphill through thigh-deep snow, no less! : )

We are very thankful for this time to relax and have fun together as a family. It's been great so far, and there are still two more days of glorious powder-filled glades, bowls and chutes ahead of us! I will be very glad to get home to my baby girl though. Norah may be a mess, but I love her so much!!

We just finished up a rousing game of Pictionary, and now we are going to sit by the fire, drink some hot cocoa and watch the snow fall... It's pretty much paradise!! Good night from Copper Mountain!

Motivational Monday - 01/17/11 Edition

2011-01-17T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

"Baby steps, Bob. Baby Steps." -Dr. Leo Marvin

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2011-01-14T16:37:00.000-06:00

Let the fun begin!! It's packing time!! Woo-hoo! : )

Rock-Star Ready!!

2011-01-11T17:49:00.000-06:00

Bear has a fresh new snowboard-ready 'do courtesy of The Papaya on West Street! Watch out, Copper Mountain, the Hudsons are coming!! : )

Kids at play!

2011-01-11T13:03:00.001-06:00

Cold weather is no match for our kids! Here's Norah in her new all terrain wagon she got for Christmas!

Silly Norah!

Silly kids!

Motivational Monday - 01/10/11 Edition

2011-01-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

Every day I get to decide whether to make things better or worse. It is up to me!

Stupid Cat!!!

2011-01-06T23:13:00.000-06:00

And so it starts...

2011-01-05T15:51:00.003-06:00

Our little Shiloh is officially mobile! He rolled over for the first time the day before yesterday, and when I laid him down for some tummy time earlier today and a second shot at it, I was able to capture a quick little iPhone video... Click below to watch!

Is it just me or is this all happening too fast?!?

Published Work - Jan. 2011

2011-01-04T14:05:00.000-06:00

Via Jason

I must say these are some of the coolest portraits of athletes I've ever seen, and they were taken by my very lovely and talented wife Kori! She also photographed the cover and cover story for the Women of Wal-Mart. Also featured is the winners of Celebrate magazine's "Most Beautiful Women Contest." as well as pictures of some really magnificent food from Nibbles in Fayetteville. These pictures appear in the January 2011 edition of Celebrate Arkansas Magazine.

Motivational Monday - 01/03/11 Edition

2011-01-03T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

When you feel like giving up - Don't!

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-02T13:43:00.004-06:00

Well last New Year's Eve, as I was writing out my super-fun and wildly ambitious set of New Year's Resolutions, I had no idea that I would find out on the very following morning I would find out that our precious little Shiloh was on his way!

Well, as you can see from my list of 2010 Resolutions below, the year we ended up having (one filled with hospital stays, bedrest and adjusting to the chaos of life with 4 kids) precluded the fulfillment of some of these goals. Here's my list from last year with notes for the ones I actually fulfilled!

2010 New Year's Resolutions!
1. Learn a yummy new recipe and make it for dinner guests ***Received amazing chicken enchiladas from Christina Lane as part of the food tree my friend Allison set up after Shiloh was born. I have since made it for several dinner guessed and passed along the food tree joy to our friend Rachel when she had her baby!***
2. Write a poem and submit it to a literary magazine
3. Paint a lovely picture to hang in the house
4. Photograph my Mom & Dad
5. Learn to knit
6. Take a random road trip to somewhere I've never been before ***Jason and I took an awesome-tastic trip to New Orleans and up the Gulf Coast last spring. It was such a refreshing break, and I loved getting to see the Big Easy in person!!***
7. Let Autumn teach me to do a scorpion
8. Send a cheerful letter to someone who isn't expecting it
9. Stand up for myself on one occasion when I might have otherwise let someone make me feel bad ***Oh, I accomplished this one alright. : ) Perhaps a bit too much, but I definitely graduated from my doormat status with certain overbearing individuals who shall remain nameless!!***
10. Organize a girls' shoot day with my fabulous female photog friends
11. Read a good book that makes my heart happy and share it with someone ***I read several Karen Kingsbury series and shared a couple of them with my mom... Speaking of which, Jen, I need to get those back to you! Also, I passed The Rules along to my previously mentioned friend Allison. Single girls across the land, read it!! : )***
12. Find an item at a junk store and fix it up to put somewhere in the house***Well, it wasn't for the house, but we did this with several awesome pieces for the Studio, so I'm going to count it!***
13. Submit a photograph to Time Magazine
14. Plant some flowers outside and try not to kill them ***Well, I at least got the planting part right, but I did, in fact, manage to kill all of them!***
15. Learn a new song on the piano
16. Redecorate our bedroom for less than $500 ***Well, I'll count this one as done since after the move we repainted and converted the nook in our new room into a beautiful little nursery area for Shiloh. Close enough, right?***
17. Write a letter to the editor
18. Get the ghetto van painted
19. Take the kids hiking in a new place ***We hiked out at Lake Fort Smith (new!) and several times at Devil's Den (not new), as well as at Little Missouri Falls and maybe once or twice up on Rich Mountain. Not bad considering everything else that went on this year!***
20. Buy an outfit I wouldn't normally wear and wear it out on a date ***I'm going to let the Lady Gaga party count for this one. It was definitely an outfit I wouldn't normally wear!! : )***
21. Learn a few phrases of conversational Spanish that don't involve cucumbers
22. Do at least one thing a month that makes me happy! : ) ***This one was for sure accomplished... It was a great year!!***

We also ended up doing a bunch of really cool stuff that wasn't on the list. In 2010:
1. We opened a Studio just off Dickson Street
2. We completed our family with a precious baby boy
3. We moved to a new house that is absolutely perfect for our family
4. We had many adventurous mini-weekends to places like Eureka Springs, Branson, Chicago, Hot Springs, Tulsa and Dallas
5. We paid off a lot of our debt (yay!!)
6. We learned that Jamie is going to give us a little niece in April. (double yay!!!)
7. Jason was interviewed on NPR about a photo series he did with Philip Thomas in Picher, Okla.
8. We figured out that the kids are rock-star snowboarders!
9. We photographed 41 weddings, numerous magazine covers and spreads and countless portrait sessions.
10. And to top it all off, we had a blast doing it!! : )

All in all, I would say 2010 was a pretty great year. Despite its various trials, rough spots and adjustments, we survived. No, we more than survived... We rocked it out! Now for 2011...

My New Year's Resolutions this year are short and sweet. For those of you who may not know this (I'll spare you the gory details either way), for 3 and a half of the last 5 years, I was terrorized by a certain unscrupulous person who shall remain nameless. Like I said, I'll spare you the details, but it was bad. Really really bad.

Thank the Lord (and I don't mean this in an offhand way, I actually mean that I truly thank God), this person is completely and totally out of our lives now. And now that I have had a little bit of a chance to recover from the madness, I plan to spend 2011 facing down the demons in my head that the fear and uncertainty this person created for our family left behind. This will be a year of joy, a year of recovery, a year of peace and a year of triumph. Because despite all the insanity this person put us through, we are still here, still standing, still happy and stronger than ever before. They say living well is the best revenge, and if this is the case, I would say we are doing that job pretty nicely! : ) But more than revenge, I want joy and peace. So that brings us to my 2011 list. Like I said, it is short and sweet.

1. Start a book about what we went through (I don't have to finish it... Just starting it would be enough to make me happy!)
2. Live consciously.
3. Be filled with joy, and overflow that joy to others at every chance I get.

I think if I can do all that, it will be a pretty good year! I also plan to end my Holiday Sabbatical from my Body after Baby mission and get my butt back in the gym, and hopefully also attend to some of the fun things that went undone on last year's list, but mostly I just want our family to have a year of happiness and peace. I think we deserve it, and I know it will happen.

So Happy New Year everybody! Here's to 2011 being the best year yet!!

Bad Parenting.

2010-12-28T11:24:00.003-06:00

Another iPhone photo I just couldn't resist sharing!

Apparently Norah doesn't know that you aren't supposed to lay babies to sleep on their tummy, especially when there is a giant Ninja Batty Shogun Uglydoll lurking nearby just waiting to viciously groom the baby with a Barbie brush. Silly 2-year-old mamas!

I walk up on scenes like this daily, by the way, and it never ceases to amuse me. One of my favorite parts of being a mother of 4- I am never bored!!! : )

Sophie Giraffe- From sucker to believer in 30 seconds flat!

2010-12-27T12:49:00.007-06:00

I was standing in line at Dilly Dally's in Rogers on Dec. 23, trying to be patient while the woman in front of me waited on her purchases to be gift wrapped as I awkwardly shifted the many adorable items filling my arms around in an effort to avoid dropping them all in a crazy overpriced heap on the floor of the crowded toy store.

My mom was trying to soothe Shiloh, who was totally over all the Christmas shopping by this point, and I sighed with relief as the woman in front of me went on her way, and I was able to finally dump all of my goodies onto the checkout shelf. We had survived the wonderland of irresistible insanely expensive merchandise and managed to come out with, for the most part, only the things I had actually gone to the store specifically to buy. I thought we were doing pretty good.

But then, as the friendly checkout lady began ringing up my purchases, out of nowhere springs another salesgirl, this one brimming with Christmas joy and a zealous glee about the item in her hands that verged on psychotic. "I see you have a baby! He would LOVE this giraffe!"

Well, by this point, I am just not in the mood to add anything else to my bill, but I humor her anyway out of the goodness of my Christmasy heart, giving her a smile and a "Really?" that apparently opened the door to a full-fledged spiel about the wonders of Sophie the $20 chew toy giraffe and how it would change my life. Everything she said sounded pretty fabulous, but I kindly informed her that there was no way on God's green earth that I was going to pay 20 bucks for a 7-inch piece of plastic for my baby to chew on, no matter how adorable she looked.

The cheerful Sophie-pusher remained undeterred. "Oh, I understand," she said, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "But if you go Google it, you'll be back. There are like 3,000 reviews about her online. Go read them and you'll see what I mean!"

I informed her that I seriously doubted it, but that I would make the effort to check it out and we would see. All the while, I am just thinking NO FREAKING WAY AM I PAYING 20 BUCKS FOR A PLASTIC GIRAFFE!!!

So then I went home, and out of some combination of curiosity and boredom, I decided to check out the reviews. Apparently that girl knows her plastic giraffes, because I read through 5-star review after 5-star review about skeptical moms who had fallen in love with this thing. Seriously, they just went on and on about it. They posted paragraph after gushing paragraph, picture after picture, and even a large handful of video reviews touting the many wonders of Sophie the ridiculously overpriced giraffe!

Wow, I thought to myself, that girl was right. People love that dang giraffe. But despite my slight change in attitude, I finished wrapping all the presents and thought I had forgotten all about her, until the next day. I woke up with a crazy, overwhelming desire to return to Dilly Dally's and acquire a Sophie Giraffe. And after all my initial resistance, what did I do? I drove up to Rogers in the freezing, miserable weather on Christmas Eve to buy my baby a silly dang chew toy for 20 bucks. I guess that girl was right. I really did come back!

Then, until Christmas morning, I kind of felt like an idiot. What a fool! I just drove 30 minutes each way on Christmas Eve to shell out 20 bucks for a CHEW TOY for my 5-month old! Ack!

But then, we opened it. After rinsing her off, we handed her off to Shiloh, and I changed my mind pretty quick. It turns out that the silly overzealous salesgirl at Dilly Dally's and all those crazy moms on Amazon were right. He loves that dang giraffe. Shiloh, who has never cared one whit about any toy in his entire short life, thinks Sophie is the best thing since fresh milk. He seriously digs it. The long neck is easy for him to hang on to, and he happily sits and chomps on her soft ears and nubby feet for several minutes at a time, which in babyland, is an eternity! He even becomes quite distressed if he drops her. It is the cutest thing!

Also, Sophie squeaks a little if you squeeze her, so Norah thinks it is super fun to pick up the giraffe and take it over to Shiloh and squeak it at him, and when she does, he squeals with delight. Craziness!

So yeah, it's a little silly to pay $20 for a chew toy, but in this case, I guess I have become a believer. Sophie Giraffe is awesome. I may even feel compelled to go write a review of her on Amazon to convince other moms that they, too, should join the ranks of happy giraffe owners as soon as they get the chance.

Speaking of which, if you have a baby that likes to chew, go read about Sophie and get one yourself! Believe it or not, you won't regret it! : )

Motivational Monday - 12/27/10 Edition

2010-12-27T08:00:00.001-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

"I want to add to the beauty." -Sara Groves

What a wonderful Christmas!

2010-12-26T13:18:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas from the Hudsons!

A few snowflakes on Christmas morning!

The kids new trampoline that Jason had to put together in the freezing cold and snow!

The new play set that Kori's dad built!

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-25T11:33:00.000-06:00

Happy Christmas to everyone from us and our two sweet babies! We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!!

Christmas!!!

2010-12-23T18:37:00.003-06:00

I am officially DONE with my Christmas shopping, and everything except for 1 (amazing, if I do say so myself) gift is wrapped and under the tree. All that is left to do is buy a few more things for Christmas dinner and bake some pies. And also maybe to watch Elf, Home Alone and White Christmas about 14 more times in the next couple of days.

I love this time of year! Merry Christmas everybody!! : )

Mid-America Museum - Experience the Awesome!!

2010-12-21T08:00:00.000-06:00

I have been going to the Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs since I was a little kid, and I have to tell you, I still derive just as much enjoyment from it now as I ever did then. That place is amazing. If you live even remotely in the area, you should totally check it out!!

Here are a few snapshots from our most recent trip there, which we took over Thanksgiving break.

After our super-fun trip, we made a quick stop by Lowe's to gather some fallen Christmas tree branches so that we could add the delicious smell of fresh pine to the joyous Christmas carols we listened to all the way home. What a fun day!

Motivational Monday - 12/20/10 Edition

2010-12-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

"Live happily ever now." -Unknown

Branson Jamfest 2010- A Hot Mess if there Ever Was One!!

2010-12-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

I think Norah's look here pretty much sums up our feelings about our first cheer competition of the year... Autumn's team may have won first place, but between the off-road parking and the fire marshall interruptions, I think we can all agree that Branson Jamfest 2010 really was just a big, hot mess. But somehow Norah manages to look cute even while throwing this giant fit!! : )

Happy Birthday Autumn and Emma Sky!!

2010-12-18T08:05:00.001-06:00

While I was trying to plan Autumn's birthday party, one of my biggest concerns was making sure that her BFF Emma Sky could attend. When I talked to her mom about it, it turned out that she was in the same boat! Autumn turned 9 on December 11, and Emma Sky was contending with a December 26 birthday. Well, once we figured out that we were both planning basically the same party with the exact same guest list during the busiest time of year, it was a no-brainer that we should combine and do a double-birthday-shindig.

It worked out great! Allison's laid-back personality perfectly balanced my psychotic OCD tendencies, and we ended up with a super-fun and relaxed 9th-birthday party that both of our girls and all of their friends greatly enjoyed. What a great solution! Here are a few pictures from our amazing time at the party!!

It was so much less stressful, and we had so much more fun that I suspect that this double-party concept may repeat itself in the future. Man, our kids are awesome.

Happy birthday, girls!! We love you!! : )

How did I become the mother of a 9-year-old??

2010-12-17T15:06:00.003-06:00

Well, believe it or not, my precious little firstborn red-headed baby girl is 9 years old now! It literally feels like she was born, and then I blinked, and then now she's 9. I think seeing personally how true the axiom is that the days go slow, but the years go fast is helping me to be patient and take my time with Norah and Shiloh as they grow up. I seriously can't believe I am the mother of a 9-year-old! It's crazytown!!

In honor of the occasion, it seems appropriate to take a little trip down memory lane. I pulled out a bunch of old albums earlier today to track down pictures of Autumn at every age. Here goes! : )

Here she is as a newborn. I was young, just shy of my 20th birthday, but I grew up awfully fast once I had another precious little life to care for! She was such a sweet little bundle!

She was a joy to have around as a baby... Very smart and happy, if somewhat anxious to become more independent and start moving around on her own ASAP. As soon as she was born, she became the light of my life, and still is. One way or the other, she was adorable!

Here she is at 1... What a little doll!

Then she turned 2... Several ER visits and self-imposed super-mullet haircuts later, here she is... This particular picture was from a time when she hid one of my lipsticks under her pillow prior to naptime. Shortly after I laid her down, I noticed that she was miraculously quiet. Thinking she must have somehow fallen asleep without her customary fit, I peeked in to find her like this. Rather than get mad, I decided I should take a picture. Which I did. Then I framed it and hung it in her room because it was just so... "Autumn!" : )

Then she turned 3, and things started to get a little easier... She was so smart and talented and talkative, she blew me away! Also, she went snowboarding the December she turned 3, and she was such a rockstar at it already. That girl amazes me!!

By the time she was 4, she was an absolute doll! She had so much joy and enthusiasm, she literally lit up every room she entered. Precious!! Here she is for her 4th birthday party at my parents' house:

It wasn't until 5 that I really started to realize how gorgeous she was. I mean, don't get me wrong, I always thought she was pretty, but at 5, her personality started to so perfectly compliment her adorable looks that I would find myself routinely staring at her in complete disbelief that such a beautiful creature could really be mine.

At 6, I was starting to realize what a happy, social creature she was. She made friends so easily and was so adaptable to new situations. It made me admire her even more!

By 7, her personality had really started to explode. I still cannot believe that this gorgeous, outgoing, super-intelligent little person could be the same sweet, helpless tiny baby I held in my arms all those years ago!

At 8, she had experienced a lot of changes. She had switched schools without so much as missing a beat and become a big sister to Norah and Shiloh along with moving twice in under 2 years. I still can't believe how gracefully she handled all the changes. Not to mention that despite her new braces, which some might think of as "nerdy," she somehow only gets more and more beautiful by the minute!

And now she's 9. Really, truly, honest-to-goodness 9 years old. And still as smart, happy, bright, friendly and loving as ever. This girl totally amazes me!! Here she is giving it her all at the cheer competition that was held on her birthday in Hot Springs. She's so stinkin' cool!

So yes. Somehow I am now the mother of the world's coolest 9-year-old. And I couldn't be happier! Happy birthday, Autumn!! I love you soooooo much!

My Fat Sister

2010-12-16T07:57:00.000-06:00

Looks like Jamie might need to lay off the leftover pizza!!! ; )

Kidding, kidding. Here she is at almost 6 months, turning out to be possibly the cutest pregnant lady ever. I can't wait to meet my precious niece!! Grow, Jamie, grow!!

Sweet Shiloh

2010-12-15T08:06:00.002-06:00

Jason took these of our sweet 4-and-a-half-month-old baby boy yesterday. I love this little guy so much!!

A visit to Santa...

2010-12-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

Bear believes in Santa with all his heart and little sweet soul, and it is the cutest thing I have ever seen! He told me the other day, "Mom, some of the kids at school were saying that they think their parents bring the presents instead of Santa. Isn't that RIDICULOUS!!!" : )

Anyway, in anticipation of our visit to Santa at the mall today, I had both of the big kids make out Christmas wish lists of items that they hoped to receive from the jolly red-suited old man. Here are their lists!

Bear:

1. PSP (Play Station Portable)
2. Swing Set
3. 2,000 Wii Games
...4. Scroll from OK China Buffet (they give these away for free, btw, but Autumn has one and he doesn't, so it drives him bananas!)
5. 2,000,000 pieces of gold

Autumn's list was as follows:
1. Lots of Uglydolls
2. Another one of those breakable porselin (porcelain) dolls with the red hair like Norah and Barrett broke last time!!!
3. A swing set........
...4. Awesome girl stuff and also lots of stuff for my American Girl doll she is awesome!!!
5. Books books and more books (followed by a picture of books)

I, for one, think their lists are awesome. Especcially Bear's. If Santa comes through with 2 million pieces of gold, I will be one happy mama! : )

After our list-making and a relaxing afternoon at home, we headed to the mall for a little visit to Santa. Bear had a (rather long) heart-to-heart with him prior to our full-family photo op. We decided that rather than dressing up in our cutest Christmas outfits, we would just go as we were. This was primarily because we happened to be at the mall, and there happened to be no line. : ) But still, I kind of like that it is such a realistic representation of everyone!

Man, I love those kids!!! : ) I hope everyone is having a great Christmas season so far! This morning, my awesome friend Allison is watching Miss Norah while I trek off to Bentonville for a VERY last-minute addition to the cover shoot (as in, we go to print TODAY!!!), and then we should have a relaxing day of house-straightening, gift wrapping, egg nog-drinking and ski trip packing.

Those lucky duck 2 big kids of mine get to go on TWO trips this year, one with their dad later this week and one with me and Jason in January. They're going to be such the little snowboarding rockstars!

I guess I should get going on the day now... Happy Tuesday everyone, and if it's going to be this stinking cold, we might as well all think SNOW!!! : )

Motivational Monday - 12/13/10 Edition

2010-12-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

From the "Inspiration" file on my iPhone, here's a thought that helps keep me going in the right direction!

"Every damn day." -Nike t-shirt